Understanding Hep C: What is it, and who's as Risk?

Hep C

Understanding Hep C: What it is and who’s at risk

Hep C is a serious liver disease

Hepatitis C, or Hep C, is a form of liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. Over time, the virus damages healthy liver cells, which can lead to liver damage, liver cancer, or even liver failure. The good news is that Hep C is manageable and even curable if testing catches it in time.

Learn more about Hep C.

Fast facts about Hep C

Hep C can range in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.

About 75%–85% of the people infected with Hep C will develop chronic infection. Of those people:

60%–70% will develop chronic liver disease

5%–20% will develop cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver

1%–5% will die of liver cancer or cirrhosis

About 20,000 people died from Hep C in 2014.

Hep C is the #1 cause of liver transplants.

If caught in time, Hep C is curable for most people with a simple treatment.

If you’re a baby boomer, consider getting tested.

Although anyone can get Hep C, it’s far more common in baby boomers (people born between 1945 and 1965). In fact, 3 out of 4 adults infected with Hep C are baby boomers. Most infected boomers are believed to have become infected in the 1970s and 1980s when rates of Hep C transmission were high.

You could be infected—and not even know it.

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Hep C is a “silent disease” because symptoms can take decades to develop. When they finally do appear, it’s usually a sign of serious liver problems. That is why it’s so important to get tested.

Over 3 million people in the United States have a chronic (longtime) hepatitis C virus infection. Most people don’t know they’re infected because they don’t look or feel sick.

The good news? Hep C is curable.

If caught in time, Hep C can be cured—and the treatment is simple. Health officials estimate that one-time testing of all baby boomers will prevent more than 120,000 deaths. Learn more about Hep C tests and treatment.